Sustainable Brands Conference Update: Empowering Consumers

(Written by: Jeanne Blaisdell) Moving from blueberries to business, the Sustainable Brands Conference ’11 kicks off next week in Monterey, California June 7-10.  Brand and design communities from major companies, like Levis, REI, Walmart, Kashi, Coca Cola and many more will come together to discover how to make smart strategic choices and inspire others to help bring healthier, smarter brands to market. As part of the SB Blogger program, I will be a virtual attendee and have had the chance to get a sneak peek of some of the speakers and topics to be covered.

Of particular interest to me is on the subject of how we, as consumers, can make the best choice that aligns with our values and makes us feel good about our purchases.  As it relates to my personal “green consumerism” (yes, I know it sounds like an oxymoron), I have questioned many actions, pondered pre-cycling and packaging, and done my best to green my non-green clothing purchases. But how do I dialogue with a brand at the point of purchase to really find out if I am making the best choice that reflects my needs and values?

Josh Dorfman, VP of Marketing for the GoodGuide shares in a pre-game video the tools that are available to empower consumers and give us the edge. Helping to bridge that dialogue between consumers and brands is the  GoodGuide and its team of scientific and technology experts who are scoring and organizing the world’s products to include food, personal care, clothes and more.
 

Here are a few key takeaways from his video:

Health is the strongest motivator for a sustainable purchase:

What consumers put in, on and around their bodies to include food, personal care products and household chemicals appear to be the biggest motivation for making sustainable product choices.  Also thinking about sustainability in a broader sense of doing good in the world – being a good global citizen by considering the ethics of company and environmental impact comes into play, but biggest motivation for a sustainable purchase is coming from perspective of health.

Despite the hype around green, the majority consumers are not in that purchasing mindset:

Not a big surprise here but GoodGuide recognizes that the more they partner with other organizations to help share product and ratings information, the greater chance of generating awareness and encouraging or “reaching the middle” to consider more sustainable choices.  That’s one reason why they have partnered with EcoBonus, a new platform that will launch soon, to reward consumers for their green purchasing decisions powered by the ratings and findings by GoodGuide.

Sustainability can move to the next level through this trend of transparency.

With information and tools available brands can tell their sustainability story while consumers can be empowered to truly act on their environmental values  – not just talk about it.

Josh, who you may know from his work as The Lazy Environmentalist, will be speaking at the conference along with the partners at EcoBonus, so look for a recap next week.

What tools or resources do you use to help you make the best purchasing decision?
Source: The Green Samaritan